Chapter 36: Full Of Surprises
Arcturus Station's Hallways, 08:08 am
Within the Arcturus Stream
"Hell of a view, Wauters." Wrex spoke as he looked out the window's station.
"I'm glad you like it." The admiral spoke. "I sometimes like to stare out into space, and I find some peace in the clusters of stars."
"Yeah, I can see that. I don't do much stargazing, though. I'm always too busy fighting."
"But those moments when you look at them, you're reminded how big the galaxy is, right? How there are many secrets we still haven't found?"
"Not really. Remember, Tom, we have different viewpoints from time to time."
Wauters laughed. "Good point."
Tali looked out the window in silence. The view was nice and everything, but she was stuck thinking about Shepard. She was walking with one of the people he saved in his career, but at the cost of his friend. Her thoughts returned to that night where he told her about how it had happened, and how he had fought Stark on Torfan. She remembered how his scars looked and how he doubted himself to be a hero. Tali's thoughts came to the hug she gave him, and how it seemed to bring him peace.
"You've been quiet, Ms. Zorah." Wauters spoke, snapping Tali back to reality. "Is something wrong?"
"I was just... thinking." Tali answered. "Shepard told me about how he saved you from his friend."
"Really, now?" Wauters sighed. "Is he still hurt by it?"
"I don't know. He might be doing better now, but he was truly sad about it telling me. He also told me about his fight with Stark on Torfan."
"Shepard's been through a lot. Robert, Torfan, hearing about how his birth city was destroyed by that William Thatcher guy. Has he told you anything about Akuze?"
"No. I've only tried reading reports. He's been through a lot."
"I think Akuze hit him hard, though. Many of us suspected it had to do with Sergeant Weaver's passing, but we haven't forced him to talk about it. Eventually, he'll say something when he's ready."
"When he told me about it, he said he didn't find himself to be a hero because of the lives he failed."
"That's just survivor guilt speaking, and he'll see one day that just because someone doesn't make it doesn't mean you failed. It just means you need to get better over time. Anderson, Hackett, and I have watched Shepard over time, and we know the spectre job is what he needs to help him." Wauters paused. "But maybe a friend is what he needs to help him even more."
"I hope you're right."
"Now, what's this about you being Wrex's student?"
Wrex laughed. "After she saved Shepard's life by killing some Cerberus scumbag, I offered to teach her a few tricks. Soon enough, she'll be saving people's lives krogan style."
"Please do not turn that phrase into a parody." Wauters joked. "I've heard this one song too much I made the private who continued to play it scrub the entire station with his toothbrush. He broke the damn thing halfway through."
"Uh, what song?" Wrex shrugged.
Wauters covered his face. "Never mind. You wouldn't understand why I hate that song. Shall we continue the tour?"
"All right." Wrex smiled. After a few seconds of walking, he let it loose. "Fighting Krogan Style!"
"Damn it, Wrex! How did you know?"
"Wasn't that hard. I just remembered how you shot that one radio when it started to play. And I thought I had problems with technology." Wrex laughed.
"Very funny, you old geezer. Let's move on."
Inside Hackett's office, Zach looked around at the surrounding objects as he stayed quiet. Hackett had been using his terminal for purposes unknown, and they hadn't said a single word since arriving. The song 'Unfolding Time' by [] Broken Iris buzzed through his head, and he couldn't help but get lost in the tune inside his head.
Hackett sighed as he stopped typing on his terminal. "How are you doing, son? This mission with Saren must be exhausting."
Zach broke his focus, and thought upon his answer. "Physically, I'm fine. Our crew has taken very little injuries during our missions. Garrus took some burns during our detour to stop an escaped criminal, but he's doing better... mostly."
"What about mentally? Are the visions you received giving you any trouble?"
"Not currently. They've died down a bit."
"How about emotionally?"
Zach cocked an eyebrow. "Is there some reason you're bringing this up, Admiral?"
Hackett stood up. "There's been some speculation within the Alliance that you may be becoming emotionally compromised. Some are suggesting you can't complete this mission, and Lieutenant Alenko has sent me discreet reports that you have been having nightmares. He also says you have been spending time with your quarian crew member quite a bit."
"Tali? She and I just talk and share a meal. I'm helping her understand our culture a bit better."
"I'll take your word on that, but I think there's more to it."
Zach looked down. "I've told her a bit about my past. She just listens to me; she doesn't yell or ignore me. It's as if she wants me to find peace within myself."
"And have you?"
"A bit. I'm no longer bugged by Robert's death, and I find myself slowly at peace with most of my past."
"But not all of it?"
"Unfortunately so."
"You still have problems with Akuze?"
"Wouldn't anyone traumatized by such an experience still feel horrible about it?"
Hackett was silent for a few seconds. "Shepard, the real reason why I called you here is because there was someone I wanted you to meet." He pressed the intercom button on his desk. "Send her in."
Zach was about to ask who it was Hackett was asking for, when suddenly a middle-aged woman walked in. She was in a captain's uniform and had red hair slowly turning into a darker shade as it came down to her shoulders. Her eyes were blue like Zach's and her face was a combination of serious and caring, like she could kick your ass and feed you cookies after.
"Commander Shepard, this is Captain Hannah Shepard, XO of the SSV Kilimanjaro."
"Hannah Shepard?" Zach asked, confused about this.
"She is the wife of your mother's brother, Patrick Shepard. She has a son in the Alliance named Jake Shepard. He's part of the engineering corps and has accepted an N7 commendation himself. He was the only one to survive a batarian raid six months ago, and that sparked curiosity. We knew you had access to your mother's name due to Father Callahan, a priest on Earth who knew her when she was alive. So I had some investigators dig through our files and we found a connection between the two of you."
"I'm sure if I had known you had survived the birthing process," Hannah spoke softly. "I might've tried to bring you into our family aboard our ship to live with Jake and your uncle. We knew about Jennifer's death, but we didn't know anything about you being alive."
Zach mustered a smile. "It's okay. I had no idea my mother had any other family, either."
"You remind me so much of Jake; you have that same confidence and positivity when you smile. But your eyes speak volumes. When I saw Jake after the incident, he held that same sadness in his eyes. You guys do have differences, but the similarities are staggering. You have your mother's eyes, though. That much I know."
"And I'm happy for it. It's nice to know I'm not as alone as I thought. I always figured I'd never meet any family of mine."
"I would appreciate it if you would join us both for lunch. The Kilimanjaro is docked for resupply and retrofitting."
"The Normandy is also docked for resupply. I'm sure you and Jake would love to see it."
"We'd be glad to."
"I will allow you both to catch up with each other today before the Killimanjaro is ready to leave dry dock." Hackett nodded. "I won't keep you two any longer. I'm sure you both have a lot of questions to ask. Good day to both of you."
Zach got up off of his chair and shook Hackett's hand. "Thank you, Admiral." He turned to face Hannah. "Where would you like to meet?"
"Jake and I will be at the commons area at 11:00 am. I would be glad if you could join us there."
"Is it okay if I bring a few friends?"
"That's all right. I'm sure your crew has many things to say about your adventures."
"I can only imagine what things they could say to exaggerate about our adventures. Maybe something about my mako driving."
"Why would they do such a thing?"
"Because they like to joke around." Zach shrugged with a grin. "I'll see you there."
"Very well." Hannah nodded as she departed. Hackett watched as Zach turned around and saluted the admiral, to which he saluted back. As he departed, Hackett smiled to himself. He just might've found a solution to Shepard's depression.
If only a temporarily one.
Arcturus Stores, 09:02 am
Garrus looked at the scope mods they had in the store while Liara browsed the catalogues of the store, likely looking for archeological texts or combat manuals. That was what Garrus thought, but it could've been something different all together. Liara herself had been browsing through dresses made accommodating for human and asari bodies. She was hoping to find something in yellow, like her mother's favorite color.
The thought of her mother sent chills down Liara's spine once more.
Garrus caught notice of this. "Are you okay?"
Liara flinched. "Sorry. I was just thinking of my mother again. The fact that she's working with Saren..."
Garrus grabbed her arm. "Liara..." He spoke softly. This sent another signal up Liara's spine, but it was one of comfort. "It's okay. We'll figure out this business with your mother."
"Thanks. I want to believe you." Liara tried to smile.
"What'cha looking at?" Garrus asked.
"Dresses." Liara showed Garrus the one she had found to be interesting. "What do you think of this one?"
"On your body? Perfect. On mine? That would never work."
Liara laughed. "I think I'll buy it. I want to wear it on the day we celebrate Saren's defeat."
"I think I would enjoy it." Garrus smiled. "I think it'd make for a good celebration. Now all I need is a matching blue suit."
"I think we can arrange that." Liara flipped through the catalogue and found a turian suit the clerk had for sale. And Garrus could tell it was in the right size for him.
"What are you guys looking at?" Garrus quickly turned at the sound of Shepard's voice. He was grinning like an idiot.
"We were just shopping. Liara wanted to get some clothes and I was looking at some scope mods."
"You do know the HMWSP X has a setting for thermal and sound-amplifying scope mods, right?"
"Uh, no. I didn't study it as much as you did."
"Righttt. Anyways, I came over to ask you guys if you wanted to join me for lunch at 11."
"That sounds lovely, but Garrus and I have plans for lunch today." Liara spoke.
"We are?" Garrus asked surprisingly, but Liara punched his arm. "Uh, I mean, we are."
"Oh. Well, I'm having lunch with some family I just discovered today and I figured you guys have some great things to say to my aunt and cousin."
"I'd probably just tell them about your mako driving. I'm sure they'd bug you about that forever." Garrus smirked.
Zach sighed. "Of course you would."
"Don't worry. "I'm sure we'll catch up with you eventually."
"Uh-huh. Well, we'll likely let them tour the Normandy, so you could always meet up then. Enjoy your shopping, ladies." Zach waved and walked away.
"So, what are we doing for lunch?" Garrus asked.
"There's a restaurant the station has for guests visiting from council home worlds. The people who own the place, the McCanns, have no bias against aliens, and they love preparing dishes from other cultures. The restaurant is called... The Spider's Bite?"
"Why would someone name a place that?"
"I don't know. I guess their son came up with it."
"What an imagination that kid has."
Liara laughed as she came up to the counter to make the purchases for their goods.
Omega meeting spot, 09:00 am
Aria T'loak waited patiently for the doors to open. The meeting spot chosen was always their favorite. The representative, Klaus, killed one of Aria's public enemies in here to secure a tight alliance. Now they needed to make new agreements to keep that alliance strong. She finally saw the door open and the representative walk in.
"Klaus, it has been far too long." Aria joked in her own serious manner.
"A long time is different for the two of us, you know." He replied, static as ever.
"So serious after all these years. Very well, let us begin negotiations."
From atop the third floor, a man begin to take aim from a window in a soundproof room. His light nightmare armor glistened in the low-lighted room, and his helm stayed away from the rays of light. He aimed the scope down at the skull of the asari in the room, surrounded by two turian bodyguards. He let the seconds pass until it was time. He turned on his spotting laser-
The gun was yanked from his hands with a biotic field.
"Nice try, Rupert, but this is not going to happen." Vica spoke, pulling out his rifle as another man approached.
"He's unarmed now." Zaeed spoke. "Let's put him out of his misery and be done with it."
Rupert immediately threw a sticky grenade right at them. The two warriors ducked, feeling the grenade explode behind them. Vica's barriers went down, but quickly recharged after he took cover.
"Fucking asshole!" Zaeed yelled as he pulled himself out of cover. He couldn't see the man anywhere. "Where are you, you son of a bitch?!"
Rupert released his camouflage system as he appeared behind the old man, intent on stabbing him in the back. Suddenly, he felt himself picked up off of the floor.
"GET OVER HERE!" Vica yelled as he biotically lashed his opponent away. The man clashed against the door, and Zaeed turned around.
"Thanks, Vica. You saved my ass."
"No need to thank me yet. Let's finish this bastard off, then you'll thank me all you want."
Rupert stood himself up, unleashing his two omni-blades from his wrists. They began to crackle with electricity.
"Aww, shit." Vica spoke as he placed his rifle back onto its holster. His fist began to glow as the omni-fist popped up. Rupert swung a few times at Vica, but every blow was deflected. Vica charged a punch and hit Rupert in the chest, but only the man's barriers depleted. Zaeed took a few shots, but Rupert had turned invisible before they could collide with flesh.
"Goddamn it, he's playing hide and seek again!" Zaeed swore, looking around to find the man. Before he could react, his gun was knocked out of his hands and the man returned to his visibility.
"Look out!" Vica threw a warp attack at Rupert Crone, staggering him. Vica then pulled out a cluster grenade, letting the fragments explode all around Crone. The biotic explosion knocked the man into the glass. It cracked, but did not break. The body on the floor appeared lifeless.
"Here's for extra-good measure." Zaeed let an incendiary grenade loose on his fallen opponent, allowing the flames to finish him off. "That was a little easier than I thought."
"Yeah, perhaps too easy." Vica agreed. "Let's go, before Aria's men look this area over."
"I'm with you." Zaeed smiled as he picked up his assault rifle. "C'mon. Let's get a drink and then we'll burn Vido Santiago's whole base to the ground, and hopefully with Vido in it."
The two warriors left the scene of the crime triumphant, never knowing that their defeated opponent's camouflage system activated a minute after their departure.
Normandy Docks, 10:23 am
Arcturus Station
Kaidan and Ashley had decided to come back from exploring the station to ensure the supplies they were meant to receive came in on time and with everything requested. So far, the order looked good. Medical supplies, rations for both sides of the amino acid chains, super-cool weapons and mods-
"Kaidan, why is it it says four suits of Colossus armor made for krogan, turian, asari, and quarian wearers?" Ashley asked, surprised at this information on the manifest.
"Ask Shepard when he gets back." Kaidan spoke as he examined the crates. He looked up to see Zach approaching. "Speak of the devil. You can ask him what's up, Chief."
"What's up with what?" Zach asked.
"Why does it say we have Colossus suits for anyone but humans?"
"I only have so many credits, Ash. I decided to play nice to our guests. Besides, could you imagine yourself in any other armor set other than your phoenix armor?"
Ashley kicked the ground as she stared downward. "I might wear blue armor some day."
"You are something, Williams." Zach shook his head. "Anyways, I came to you guys to see if you wanted to eat lunch with me and my unexpected aunt and cousin."
"'Unexpected aunt and cousin'?" Ash asked, making quotation marks with her fingers.
"Apparently my mom had a brother who was in the Alliance, too. Their entire family thought I was dead when she had me. They knew she was dead, but they didn't know I was still alive."
"Wow, that sucks." Ashley's stomach then growled. "Well, I guess I could use a bite to eat."
"You in, Kaidan?"
"No thanks." The man objected. "I'm going to get these crates loaded onto the Normandy."
"Suit yourself, then. But try to take some time to relax, Kaidan."
"I will. Just not right now." Kaidan began lifting a crate with his biotics.
"You know, that's going to strain your abilities. You're certain you want to load the crates onto the Normandy that way?"
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing." Kaidan walked onto the Normandy without any trouble.
Zach could then hear Wrex's loud voice echo as he told Admiral Wauters of old battles he fought. "So then I charged at the salarian pyjaks, throwing one over my head and using the other as a club to beat the last guy to death! And then my favorite quarian took out the shields of the assassin trying to kill Garrus, and then Shepard punched that turian in the face, killing him with a pistol shot to his skull! He slowly turned into an ice sculpture that fragmented and melted on the ground!"
"And that's how you three joined his team?" Wauters asked. "Very impressive."
"What? That all you can say is impressive?"
"Maybe with more enthusiasm." Tali noted. "Like 'Impressive!'"
Tali's impression of Garrus made everyone laugh.
"What did I tell you, Wauters?" Wrex laughed a bit more. "My favorite quarian."
"The best quarian I could ever ask for in my crew." Zach agreed, approaching the group. He never noticed the color Tali's cheeks were through the helmet, but the glowing eyes showed how much she appreciated his praise. "I'm glad you guys came back. I wasted enough time walking around the station, telling tales of our battles and signing autographs to the new recruits. I thought I'd never find you guys."
"Why were you looking for us?" Wrex asked.
"Apparently, I have an aunt and cousin that didn't know I was alive. They're in the Alliance and onboard the station now. They wanted to invite me for lunch, and they said I could bring any friends I wanted. I thought you guys would want to come."
"As nice as that sounds, Shepard, I wanted to show Wauters the Normandy if that's all right."
"All right." Zach turned towards Tali. "How about you, Tali?"
"Sure, but I'm not sure if your station has any food for me."
"Arcturus has recently had a few diplomats from other species visit. They serve food from other cultures. If you're still afraid they won't have something you can eat, you can always pack a nutrient tube."
"Okay."
Zach turned to Ashley. "You all set to go, Ash?"
"Yeah. Just give me a minute." Ashley ran into the Normandy. Tali followed along to grab her satchel and some nutrient paste. Wrex then walked in; likely to start the tour from the cargo hold. Wauters began to follow, but stopped, turning to face Zach.
"I forgot to ask, how have you been doing recently, Shepard?"
"No worse for wear."
"Has... Robert's death still been affecting you?"
"Not since I told Tali about the incident."
"Good. That's what is meant to happen. Let old ghosts rest." Wauters turned and walked onto the Normandy.
"If only they wanted me to rest." Zach whispered. Six long years he seemed to torture himself with his memories of past events. It was maddening, it would seem, to do such a thing, but it wasn't like he was actually intentionally doing it on purpose. They just happened.
"We're all set to go." Zach heard Ashley say as he turned to face his crew members. Tali had her satchel and Ashley looked a little more awake. Zach had to wonder how she accomplished that.
"Yeah. Let's go. I want to be there before they are."
"Okay." Tali nodded, following Zach and Ashley in silence. She had to wonder just what this aunt and cousin of his would be like. Even she didn't know what it was like to have to have an aunt or cousin because of the fleet's rules to ensure their numbers don't strain their resources. The only thing relatively closely to that was Wrex, and that was a bit of a joke between them because of Nala'Kados vas Necador. Then she began thinking: what would this cousin of his look like? Does he look like Shepard?
Arcturus Commons, 11:00 am
Jake Shepard was a twenty-seven-year-old Alliance marine that was part of the engineering corps. He rubbed his buzz-cutted head as he and his mother waited for his 'cousin' that he hadn't known about for years. Commander Zach Shepard had been granted the honor of being the first human spectre, and that was one of the few things he caught notice of. Another thing that they could compare to each other is their experience of being the only survivor of a mission gone horribly wrong. Zach's might've been worse than Jake's; Zach had to survive giant worms popping out of the ground while Jake fought off a batarian ambush. The song 'Mad World' by Gary Jules ran through his mind every time he thought of what had happened.
The events had happened so fast during that fateful battle. The slow song seemed to fit best.
"Jake," Hannah began speaking. "are you all right?"
"Yeah. I'm just stuck thinking about the past again."
"What happened wasn't your fault."
"Was it not?"
Before Hannah spoke again, she turned to see that Zach was right there with two other women; one of them being a quarian. "Zach! I didn't notice you arrived."
"It's okay." Jake heard the man spoke. He turned to see him. The man had golden hair and the same blue eyes Jake had; down to the depressive state they were in. The man was older by about two years and looked bulkier than himself; likely because of the heavier combat armor sets. For Jake, he preferred a light suit of Duelist armor. He liked the design.
"This is your cousin, Jake." Hannah pulled Jake from the railing he was leaning on. "Say hello to Zach."
"Hello." Jake extended his hand and shook Zach's hand. "The extranet has a lot to say about you."
"I just wish I got more info on you." Zach shrugged. "Your mother hasn't said much."
"And who would these guests be?" Hannah asked, pointing at the two other women.
"The one in the Alliance clothes is Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams and my quarian companion is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."
Jake brought himself closer to the two women, extending his hand towards Ashley. When she took it, he instead brought it around and kissed it, portraying an old, chivalrous gentleman. Ashley seemed to blush as he released his hold on her. He looked up at Tali, and instead began a quarian greeting. "May the solar winds give you peace as you travel far from home, pilgrim."
"Keelah Se'lai. I didn't think there would be a human that would know some quarian blessings."
"I ran into a few three weeks ago. They taught me a few things. And I think I'll be hacking through things much better thanks to them."
"Which system do you use?"
"The one where no one will ever catch you."
"Not very descriptive there, Jake." Zach said.
"Call it a trade secret then. Everyone has their perks." Jake smiled. "So, where to for lunch? I'm buying."
An hour later, they were all laughing at some war stories. Jake was halfway finished with his steak quesadilla, but he had to stop between bites to laugh. Zach had been enjoying a BBQ chicken melt while Jake's mom had a classic burger and Ashley had a lasagna. Tali had a nutrient tube she brought along, as there was no food for quarians in the restaurant.
"You're kidding!" Hannah laughed. "There's no way you guys single-handedly fought off a slave syndicate by EMPing the mako's shields and shooting the leader's shotgun to explosive bits using Disruptor rounds!"
"It's true!" Ashley argued. "Shepard used the shields of the mako as an EMP against four armored pirates and I shot right down the barrel of their leader's shotgun with my assault rifle, effectively destroying it."
"I can vouch for her, Hannah." Zach agreed. "And we have a krogan who can tell you the same exact story but with a better storyteller voice."
"Wrex would definitely put on a show with it."
"I'll bet." Jake nodded. "They might even get into a talk about their war scars."
"Speaking of scars, how many do you have, Jake?" Tali asked.
"Why? Do you want a scar-comparing contest or something?"
"I just know that Shepard has gotten into some very rough senarios, and I've seen the scars to prove it. I figured you'd have some, too."
"Wait, you've seen Shepard's scars?" Ashley asked, stunned about this.
"Well, I've got a few from just working on the ships when I was younger. There were some scars from my mission on Jartar, where I lost my squad. We were just doing recon when they attack. Those scars still seem to hurt me physically and emotionally." Jake finished his quesadilla. "On the bright side, these things are great distractions."
"Seriously, how come no one told me Shepard had scars? Or that Tali saw them?!"
"They're nothing special, Ashley. Just outlines of my ribcage and a bullet wound on my shoulder."
"I've gotten shot once, too. Something about calibrations gone wrong." Jake shook his head. "After I recovered, I showed the kid how much his calibrations sucked. He ended up shooting his foot after."
"Sucks to be that guy." Zach laughed.
Once they were finished, they all walked back to the Normandy Docking Bay to let the crew leave to continue the mission. However, Jake had left to grab something, but he said he'd be back before they had to depart the station. Hannah said that it was likely he would try to come aboard the Normandy and adventure with him. Zach laughed, but Hannah said she knew her son better than anyone. Zach said his good-byes and decided to wait outside for that moment.
Sure enough, Jake came running with his suitcase, a backpack, and his lancer rifle in his hands. "Hey, cuz? Want another hand on deck?"
"Your mother said something about you wanting to join. But are you sure you want to come along?"
"Hey, come on! You're fighting a rogue spectre and a bunch of geth! How could I not want to sign up. Besides, this could be a good way for us to bond, and..." Jake's happiness seemed to drain. "I figured your experience with Akuze could help me with my experience on Jartar."
Zach sighed. "I guess it couldn't hurt. Let's go show you around the Normandy. I'm sure you'll love the ship."
"Awesomesauce!" Jake went back to his happy state; likely a mask he wore to protect others from worry. "Let's go, cuz! The galaxy is going to know about Jake Shepard before Saren Arterius falls!"
Zach rolled his eyes. He seriously could not believe Jake would announce he would try to take all of the credit. But then again, how much credit could he steal if he didn't travel much? He laughed to himself as he boarded the Normandy, letting Joker know he could take off for their mission again.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I apologize for the delay in the chapter. I've been either at work or playing games. Also, I have gotten two more games I wanted to play; Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Catherine. So I'd obviously be stuck playing those games a bit (mainly Deus Ex right now) and that distracts my time a bit. Also, I feel like randomly saying this: NerdLord2nd, thanks for somehow getting me hooked to an old Teen Titans fanfic despite the fact I never really watch the show. I saw some things that were parts to my plan for the series here, and it gave me a few random ideas for later, so yeah... This is what happens when you look at the favorited stories of your followers. You just randomly read stuff that you never expect to look at.
Anyways, shoutouts, references, Zaeed, and Lord knows what else. Three chapters away from the pausing chapter, Insanity.
P.S. Two other things:
1. How long do you guys think Jake Shepard should stay aboard the Normandy?
2. What's your opinions on The Stranger so far?
Your answers might change the story a bit.